Being the patient

Can be really lame. So I was feeling like crap the other night, painful breathing with the addition of a speedy heart rate. Wasn't a good enough reason to get an appointment for that day (yesterday), so they transferred me to the triage nurse so I could explain the whole thing to her. She called the office and pretty much made them give me an appointment.

I missed out on some sleep and only ate a banana and a granola bar, as I was trying to make what I thought would be a fairly quick visit and then I could go in to work last night as scheduled. Well, granted they were able to do something to make me start feeling better. They assessed me, did some labs, did a chest x-ray and an EKG. However, they also wanted to rule out a pulmonary embolism (blood clot), which they were unable to do in the office. So then I had to go to their ER in Redmond so I could get a CT scan done.

Anyways, long story short.....lots of waiting waiting waiting, labs, another EKG, oh now the CT machine is down until whenever. I was TIRED and HUNGRY. Doc said I could eat after the CT but what he really meant is I could eat after the results of the CT were looked at. I finally got to eat something at about 7:45, which was almost 8 hours after I had first arrived at my original appt. Had to stay a bit longer to get some IV antibiotics and fluids and to give more blood for lab tests, this time to see what possible foreign cooties were growing in me.

Final diagnosis: probable pneumonia. They added the probable part because I didn't have a fever or cough which they would expect to see with pneumonia.

Some of the staff was super nice and some of them had no personality whatsoever. I know the personality doesn't automatically mean a person is competent, but it sure makes me feel better when an actual PERSON takes care of me as opposed to a robot.

Being the patient makes me appreciate the little things more too. Like privacy while my boob is hanging out so they can put EKG stickers on me. Or keeping the patient informed about why things are taking so long.

So I am going to my regular doctor again today. Am feeling minimally better. The doctor last night gave me orders not to go to work tonight as well as last night, and luckily I have the next 2 nights after tonight off so I can spend some time recuperating. Why the fuck did I get pneumonia? No flipping clue. Oh well.